Two people were killed and two injured when a driver struck a parked vehicle in a north Minneapolis alley Friday night.

The vehicle was speeding north in the alley just north of Lowry Avenue and west of Penn Avenue N. when the driver hit two telephone poles and then flipped after crashing into a parked car as someone was getting out of it, said police spokesman John Elder.

An unmarked squad car had begun pursuing two cars that had passed it at high speeds and pulled the second driver over at 7:52 p.m.

The driver told police he was trying to catch up to the first car after being hit by it.

The officer then headed in the direction of the first car. A plume of debris came into view and the officer found the alley crash.

One person killed was from the parked car and one from the suspect vehicle, police said. Two others were injured.

Map: 2 dead, 2 hurt in crash

Elder said police chaplains were on the scene Friday night to help “people with their grief” as authorities continued to investigate.

Hannah Covington is a suburban reporter for the Star Tribune covering news in the north metro, including Anoka County, Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center. She previously lived and worked in Oklahoma, including stints at two newspapers there.